Dynamic Opinions and Views

“Who’ll Be the Next In Line?”

“Who’ll be the next in line…Who’ll be the next in line for heartache?”

The melodic Kinks tune should be the Republican theme song for the 2012 election as prospective candidates fall like flies. So who’s next?

Over the last year or so the Republicans have had no less than 20 presidential hopefuls with aspirations to the highest office in the country. A revolving door of right-wing pols offering hours of comedic relief, none of which has escaped notice of the punditry and, with any luck, the American people.

For a long time Republicans have followed an orderly ascendancy to the Presidential nomination, but the Tea Party has disrupted that long standing tradition. And the possible outcome’s unsettling to the party.

Since I wrote the last installment in my “Is That All You’ve Got?” series, in early March, new dynamics have emerged.

The Republican Party is in disarray, searching for a direction, unsure of what their party stands for.

Could it become any more inane?

Donald Trump threw his name around as a potential candidate with a platform even crazier than Palin, Santorum, or Bachmann’s.

The guy’s a charlatan, a media whore, a self-aggrandizing clown, whose birther and veiled racist attacks on President Obama were political theater and a detriment to legitimate Republican candidates.

He’s already history, thank God! But others—equally unbelievable—are poised to take his place.

Who’s next?

As we edge closer to the deadline to declare their candidacy, announcements of who’s not running have become more interesting than those who are running.

Mitch Daniels, announced over the weekend that he’d decided not to run, stating, “I love my country; I love my family more.”

The Governor of Indiana was considered by the Republican establishment to be a formidable challenger to Barack Obama.

He seems to be a nice guy, but, like all the Republican candidates, he fails to understand our current fiscal dilemma and how we got here.

Another capable opponent, Mike Huckabee, also announced he would not be seeking the nomination on his Fox show two weeks ago. Despite all the factors saying ‘go,’ he explained, he had a weak heart that said ‘no’.

Another hopeful, Governor Haley Barbour, announced a few weeks ago that he would not be running. Haley did not have a weak heart, just a weak base and weak positions.

And then there were the debaters.

In the first Republican debate many declared Pizza Maker, Herman Cain, the winner over the other hopefuls: Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Gary Johnson. Pawlenty, who seems to be more appealing to the Republican establishment, apparently was dull and ineffective. He officially announced on Monday that he was running.

The others?

So the search for a qualified Republican continues and the list expands and contracts with every day. The struggle between the conservatives and Tea Party rages on with no clear frontrunner.

Newt Gingrich entered the fray and is already on his way out, or should be after his disastrous first week which began by denouncing the Republican favored, people hated, Ryan Budget on Meet the Press. A serious candidate? More like a throw-back with tired ideas and over-used rhetoric which will not get him to Iowa let alone the Republican nomination.

Established Republicans—aging Southern white men with narrow minded beliefs and recycled ideas—are looking elsewhere. The pickings are slim for those desperate to unseat the first black, socialist, community activist President.

They’ve turned their attention to three unique possibilities: the former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China, John Huntsman; bully Governor, Chris Christie, despite his declining popularity in New Jersey; and an even crazier selection, secessionist Governor, Rick Perry, of Texas.

But the Republicans still need to appease the Tea Party faction, and that may be difficult. But the zaniness of Perry may satisfy them.

Could it get any more demented? The simple answer is—yes!

Bachmann and Palin keep hinting at a run; Palin implying that if the field remains murky she would jump in and save the day!

That’s all the Republicans need at a time of such party instability. Adding two political bimbo’s would further fracture a weakening pool.

The Tea Party is still attempting to steer the direction in spite of their declining power, despite running out of steam, recently indicated in rallies in Washington DC, and South Carolina.

An answer to the Republican dilemma may not be resolved until the Republican National Convention. But, until then, the question remains.